Harvard Heavyweight V8, 2V8, F8 Bound for IRA Grand Finals

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Harvard heavyweight
varsity eight won its semifinal and the second varsity and freshman
eights placed second in theirs Friday as all three boats advanced
to their respective grand finals on the second day of the
Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships on the
Cooper River.

The varsity eight won the tightest race of the day in its
semifinal. The crowd on shore grew into a frenzy as two seats
separated the six crews—all from the Ivy League—after
500 meters. Brown, Harvard and Yale all took turns in the lead
across the middle 1,000 meters, with Cornell joining the
frontrunners with Dartmouth close behind in the final 500. The
Crimson outsprinted its Ivy rivals, winning by a half-second in
05:37.284.

The Bears finished second, just three-hundredths of a second
ahead of the Big Red, while the Big Green missed the grand final by
half a second. The other semifinal was also close, as Washington
edged Cal to first place and Syracuse surged in the final strokes
to beat Boston University for third by one-fiftieth of a second.
The grand final for the national title will be Saturday at 12:15
p.m.

The second varsity secured its spot in the grand final when it
left behind fourth-place Northeastern approaching the 1,000-meter
mark. The Crimson soon caught up to leaders California and Cornell.
It became a two-boat race in the final 500 meters. The Golden Bears
hung on by 1.6 seconds, as Harvard finished second in 5:49.871,
nearly seven seconds ahead of the Big Red. Semifinal 2 winner
Washington, Brown and Wisconsin also made the grand final.

The Crimson freshmen emerged as qualifiers from another tightly
packed semifinal. California built a lead in the second 500 meters,
as Harvard, Boston University and Stanford raced neck-and-neck. Cal
hung on to become the first team to defeat the Crimson this season,
holding off the Harvard sprint by 1.8 seconds. The Crimson placed
second in 5:50.384, three-tenths of a second ahead of Stanford. The
Cardinal topped BU by a quarter-second for the last grand final
berth. Washington, Cornell and Princeton advanced from the other
semifinal.

Cornell jumped out to an early lead in Harvard’s open four
heat and led throughout. The Crimson was in second through 1,000
meters, holding a narrow lead on Washington. The Huskies went on to
a second-place finish, and Brown edged Harvard at the line for the
final qualifying spot. The Crimson finished in 6:30.242, barely a
second back of the Bears.